"You've been holding out on us, haven't you?" Sara smirked mischievously at Nick from across the table at the cozy café they were sitting in. He had not been exaggerating when he'd told her that the French toast at this place was amazing.

Nick let out a soft chuckle as he speared a piece of apple stuffed French toast with his fork. "I discovered this place the last time one of my sisters came up to visit." He popped the bite of food into his mouth and grinned at her. He was tempted to pinch himself to make sure that he really was on a date with Sara Sidle.

Sara looked at him curiously, as if something had just occurred to her. She had known Nick for over four years, but there was a lot about him she didn't know, that she really wanted to know. "Can I ask you a question?" There was a bit of hesitation in her voice.

Nick furrowed his brow slightly and nodded. "Shoot." He knew that there were certain topics that eventually came up when you dated someone new and he hoped that this wasn't one of them. He and Sara knew each other pretty well, so most of the questions about ex-girlfriends had come up in the course of conversation while they'd worked together.

She looked at him thoughtfully. "How come none of us have ever met any of your family?" She regarded Nick's somewhat blank expression and pressed on. "I mean I know that most of them live in Dallas, but how come you've never brought any of them by the lab when they've been in town?" Her question seemed perfectly logical in her mind, the lab was a sort of second home to her, but then again, no one knew anything about her family and she wasn't sure she wanted that to change. However, her PEAP counselor that she'd been seeing since her near DUI had helped her to see that some of her workaholic tendencies were a direct result of trying to deal with her family and her upbringing.

Nick shrugged his shoulders. "I guess because when I'm at work, I'm at work, and when I'm off, I'm off. I don't like to mix the two. It never occurred to me that any of you would want to meet them." Of all of the CSIs, Nick seemed to balance his life a little better than most of them. He was able to let the job go for the most part when he went home and had a little time to unwind, or at least he gave it a damn good try; there was always a case now and then that wouldn't let go of you.

Sara smiled at him softly, cradling a cup of coffee in her hands. "It might be interesting to meet some of your family, especially with your parents being in law." She was very curious about the parents who had helped to shape the man sitting across from her and she wondered about his siblings and how he interacted with each of them. She allowed her mind to briefly drift to what Thanksgiving and Christmas might be at the Stokes' house in Dallas and whether or not they would like her.

There was a hint of sadness in Nick's smile as he reached over and picked up his cup of coffee and took a long draw from it before setting it back down on the table in front of him. "Being in law is a lot different than being in law enforcement, but the hours are pretty much the same." Nick's mind seemed to take a light speed trip through his childhood as he spoke. "My dad wasn't around much because he worked a lot, especially after he was appointed to the bench; although when he was around he certainly tried to make up for lost time." A smirked flitted across Nick's face as he tried to lighten the mood. "I think seven kids is evidence of that." He waggled his eyebrows at Sara.

Sara giggled. "You are so bad."

Nick just grinned at her. "He and my mom will have been married for 50 years next year." In the back of his mind, he wondered what it would be like to be with Sara that long and he felt a fluttering sensation in the pit of his stomach as he considered for the second time that day that he had either already fallen for her or he was in the midst of falling hard and fast.

Sara's eyes widened. "Wow. I didn't think people stayed married that long any more." She knew that her comment sounded cynical, but then she hadn't exactly had the example of stability and what a proper home life should be. She had used her exceptional intelligence to become an overachiever as a means to escape a life that she never wanted to have for herself. The accomplishment of Nick's parents made her wonder what that kind of life might be like, what that kind of family might be like.

Nick took another sip of his coffee. "What about your parents? You've never brought them by when they've come to visit." He watched panic flicker across Sara's face for a brief moment and then he furrowed his brow in concern as she looked at him with a fearful expression.

Sara felt a flurry of nerves in her stomach. "Actually, they haven't visited me since I moved to Vegas." She wasn't sure how much she wanted to tell Nick, she wasn't sure he'd understand why it was that she really didn't want them to come for a visit.

Nick recognized the look on her face from the look he'd seen on the faces of so many victims who had survived to testify or to give an eyewitness account, and he knew enough about Sara not to press her to share something with him that she wasn't ready to. "I'm sorry." He reached across the table and took her hand in his, giving it a squeeze, but not letting it go, instead he began to rub his thumb over the back of it in a steady rhythm as he smiled softly at her.

Sara smiled nervously, appreciative of the comforting gesture that Nick offered. She knew that she could trust him, but she wasn't sure she trusted herself to keep it together while she talked, so she decided to just speak in generalities and save the specifics for another time in a less public place. "My parents are a little strange." She looked into his eyes and drew a bit of courage from the kindness that lay there. "We don't really get along very well."

"It's their loss, Sara." Nick looked at her intently wondering just how it was that these people that had created the amazing woman sitting across from him had hurt her enough that she didn't seem to want a relationship with them, or at least didn't want to put herself in a position to be hurt all over again.

Sara felt emotion welling up in her throat and she did her best to squelch it. She smiled and let out a soft chuckle. "Well I can't do anything to change them." That was one of several truths that her counselor had helped her to see over the course of the last several months and it had given her a great deal of freedom inside, but she hadn't really talked to anyone about those things yet and the prospect of it scared the hell out of her.

Nick could tell that Sara was uncomfortable so he decided to try and change the subject. He gestured towards Sara's plate which still had half a piece of strawberry stuffed French toast on it. "Are you going to eat that?"

Sara smirked at him, thankful that the flirty banter had returned. "I was just going to ask you the same thing." She pointed at his plate which still had a few substantial bites left on it.

He regarded both of their plates for a brief second before picking up her plate and trading it with his. He laughed at her opened mouth scoff and then winked as he popped a bite of her French toast in his mouth. "This is pretty good."

"I know." She just shook her head at him, trying to restrain her smile.

He pointed at his plate as it sat in front of her. "That's not gonna eat itself you know."

She just giggled as she picked up her fork and began to devour the remainder of his French toast.